Yet Another Post About Ruby

 Research has shown that many questions in this house contain the same word in the answer: "Ruby."

"Who took my...?"  "Ruby."
"What happened to....?"  "Ruby."
"Where is the....?"  "Ruby."
"Why is there....?"  "Ruby."

If you come to visit, don't leave your cell phone, keys, coffee, shoes, precious jewels or anything valuable anywhere she may reach, and that includes three feet off the ground. She can climb, ladies and gentlemen.

She runs around this house like she owns the place. If she finds a door cracked open, she pushes it open as hard as she can until it slams against the wall. She stands in the doorway and looks around the room for a while, her little pot belly on full display.  Once she has decided her plan of action, she charges as fast as she can to empty out a drawer, dump out a box, clear off a book shelf, etc. A parent entering the room to catch her doesn't stop her; it just makes her do her work faster. A fight to the bitter end. It's not until she is picked up and carried out does she stop.

This morning, as I scrambled around the house trying to get everyone out the door in less than an hour, Ruby required a clothing change times three. Next time, I will get her dressed just as we are backing out of the driveway, to be safe.

The first outfit, a darling one at that, was ruined by a large gulp of my morning lemon water, soaking the front of her shirt.  The second, a semi-cute one, was ruined by a soup-making experiment in the toilet. The soup contained toilet paper, Q-tips, a sock and a feminine product or two. The third, which was quite rancid anyway, was covered in soggy cereal from bowls left at the table by the older siblings. By the time we left for church, she had clothes on that were clean and dry. That's all that mattered at that point.

People ask me all the time how it went having these two babies 12 months apart. My answer usually depends on the day I'm having. But the blessings far outweigh the challenges. Yes, the first few weeks months were busy. I had to write out a schedule of my day, otherwise nothing would get done. 7am wake up, put laundry going, 8am make breakfast, and so on. 9:12am go to the bathroom. You know. Before scheduling out my day, I'd find myself at 5pm, still in my robe, no clean laundry and kids still running around in their jammies. The fog of the newborn days was quite thick this time around. We moved into our house three days before Henry was born and the older kids started school shortly after. I was a zombie for a good few months there. Maybe I still am and no one is telling me?

My favorite part of having these two so close in age is to watch them interact. Even when he was a fresh newborn, Ruby, at her tender age of 12 months, was so intrigued by him. The older they get, the sweeter it is. When he spits up, she is quick to grab a blanket or wipe and attempt to clean it up. When he cries, she tries to put a paci or bottle in his mouth whether it's needed or not. Whenever she is in the area, she usually swings by to give him a quick peck on the forehead before she goes about destroying another room in the house.

Check back in a year or two when I'll be writing about the trouble these two will be causing together. I have all the confidence in her mentoring skills.